Rumput with Endah Laras and Danis Sugiyanto at University of Richmond

Rumput is honored to support keroncong royalty Endah Laras and Danis Sugiyanto for a concert of keroncong classics at Perkinson Recital Hall, University of Richmond.

Endah Laras is a renowned keroncong performer with an equally robust background in traditional Javanese arts. Her father was a dalang (shadow puppeteer), her mother a dancer, and they taught her karawitan, sindhenan, and Javanese dance. This foundation in traditional Javanese arts laid the groundwork for her studies and collaborations in contemporary and experimental music. Laras has performed with acclaimed dalang Ki Enthus Susmono in the Netherlands, France, Belgium and Korea. She collaborated with Japanese choreographer Akiko Kitamura on “To Belong”, which appeared in Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Indonesia. She routinely gives dance and music workshops at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and UWCSEA, an international school in Singapore. Her mellifluous and versatile voice lends itself well to keroncong, as heard on recordings with keroncong maestros Andjar Any and Mus Mulyadi.

Danis Sugiyanto is a professor of karawitan at Institut Seni Indonesia Solo (Indonesian Arts University of Solo) and a master keroncong musician. Born in Surakarta, Sugiyanto has appeared in musical and theatrical productions throughout the world. In 1997, he performed in a production of “King Lear” in Japan under the direction of Ong Ken Seng and Rahayu Supanggah. He also performed karawitan in a production of “I Lagaligo” by acclaimed director Robert Wilson and Rahayu Supanggah in New York (2005), Jakarta (2006), Melbourne (2006), Milan, and Taipei (2008). He is an accomplished composer and contributed music for a production with Wayang Keroncong Gendut at the Malay Festival of Singapore, 2016. With the support of a Fulbright fellowship, Sugiyanto taught at the University of Richmond and the College of William & Mary as a scholar-in-residence during the Spring semester of 2018.